The present invention relates to seat belt webbings and in particular to a guide for a seat belt webbing as the webbing passes through an opening in a vehicle structure.
Seat belts for vehicle seat assemblies include a belt webbing that is typically attached to the vehicle structure by an anchor bolt at one end and a webbing restraint at the other end. A clasp is mounted on the webbing for insertion into a buckle whereby the webbing forms a lap belt and a shoulder belt for a seat occupant. The webbing will generally be routed through a retractor housing and one or more "D" rings which are mounted to the vehicle structure. The seat belt system, including the retractor housing and "D" rings is assembled by the seat belt manufacturer and supplied as a unit to the vehicle manufacturer. During vehicle assembly, the seat belt system is simply attached to the vehicle at the belt anchor points.
However, in the case of a seat belt webbing mounted to a seat assembly instead of the vehicle structure, the webbing forming the shoulder belt may extend through an opening at the upper end of the seat back. To mount the seat belt system to a seat assembly, the belt webbing must be routed through the seat structure and the opening at the upper end of the seat back. This opening must be large enough to enable the belt anchor plate and clasp to pass through during routing of the belt as the seat is being assembled.
During use, as a seat occupant grasps the webbing to pull the webbing across his or her torso forming the lab belt and shoulder belt, the webbing is often pulled laterally relative to the opening in the seat back structure through which the webbing extends. This lateral pull on the webbing can cause the webbing to fold over on itself within the opening forming a double thickness of the webbing passing through the opening. In addition, twists of the webbing formed in the lap and shoulder belts can pass through the opening and into the seat back. The double thickness or twisting of the webbing can interfere with the extension and retraction of the webbing through the opening such that increased efforts are required to use the seat belt and can possibly render the seat belt unusable.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a structure to prevent the seat belt webbing from bunching or folding over in the opening into a seat back or other body structure through which a belt webbing its routed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mechanism to prevent twists in a seat belt webbing from passing through an opening in the seat back or an opening in another body structure through which the belt webbing is routed.
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a guide for the webbing to be mounted in the opening in the structure for passage of the webbing therethrough. The guide contains a slot that is sized to closely fit around the webbing to prevent the webbing from folding over into a double thickness. The guide is sized so as to fit within the opening in the structure to fill the excess size of the opening after the attaching hardware has been passed through the opening during installation of the belt webbing to the seat assembly. The guide is placed on the belt webbing during the assembly of the seat belt system by the seat belt system manufacturer. Depending upon the particular design and the method of assembly, the guide itself may be sized so that it can fit through the opening in the vehicle structure in one orientation and then be reoriented for mounting into the opening for a permanent assembly.